Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Well, it's almost Christmas time, and you know what that means: crappy holiday comics! In this case, a Star Trek: The Next Generation Christmas comic I got back in the late '80's! Bad dialogue, bad skinny ties, fake Christmas cheer! I sent it into the good people at I-Mockery.com, and they made a li'l article about it! Check out the link: http://www.i-mockery.com/comics/longbox34/

Monday, December 21, 2009

Ahem. So, I saw Avatar. Holy Crap. I literally couldn't tell the difference between computer-generated special effects and live action. I also now know why the TV show Bones was all over this flick, too: one of the special guest star Jeffersonian Interns was in it! I have no idea what is name is, I only know him as the Matrix-lovin' game designer from the stoner flick Grandma's Boy.

So the movie stars Sam Worthington as a parapalegic ex-Marine Jake Sully. Good actor, but I don't see why he's the "NEXT BIG THING." The dude's in everything coming up, but he can't control his Australian accent. Anyways, there's this planet Pandora that's populated by these tall, skinny blue aliens called the Na'vi. Avatars are these remote-controlled alien bodies, controlled by mere humans, in order to interact with the Na'vi, teach them and negotiate. The humans are there--with both military and scientific factions--to learn about the alien species but to mine the planet for its precious and expensive ore. There's a whole Dances with Wolves thing going on, communing with nature, going native and becoming part of the Na'vi tribe. I could have done without the first hour, but it was necessary to set up Jake's part. The Na'vi are supposed to be the Native Americans (or any other indiginous race displaced by another race), right down to the fact the Na'vi call themselves "The People," something I know the Apache do as well. It also has Sigourney Weaver in it (smoking! Which is one of the reasons the movie is PG-13--a little ridiculous if you ask me) as the chief scientist and fellow Avatar controller. How did she manage to get such big--uh..Stamford University shirts?

Then, there's the battle!! The miltary, headed by some sadistic Colonel, wants to violently displace the Na'vi and take over their land to mine. The Na'vi are connected to the entire planet, biochemically, emotionally and spiritually. Since James Cameron didn't have too much Colonial Marine action in Aliens (one of my favorite flicks), he went all out on the military hardware. Giant ships, helicopter-like ships, and even Mecha-style wearable battle tanks. Awesome. This movie provided one of the most emotionally-charged scenes in a movie I've seen in a while. You can feel the terror and sadness coming off the Na'vi, just a powerful scene.

Then, like I said, there's the battle. Sully quickly goes Native with the Na'vi and starts fighting the military. It's like as if King Phillip's War went the way it was supposed to--the Indians gather together en masse and fight the white man. Giant dragon-like birds, dinosaur-sized animals, and Mecha Robots that have humans inside--a human analogue to the Avatars. A good movie, powerful, emotional and action-packed.

Couple other things going on. Almost done with skool. Here's another blog I did for one of my classes: http://davislsc533.blogspot.com/. I got an A on the blog but a B+ for the class in general.